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Everything You Need to Know About the Current State of Major League Baseball During Coronavirus Pandemic

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With the status of Major League Baseball everchanging due to the coronavirus pandemic, this article will provide you with the most up-to-date news as it happens. I will update this article when necessary, i.e. when any major news about the 2020 season is released. As of June 22nd, 2020, here is what you need to know:

June 22nd, 2020:

We will have baseball in 2020!!!

June 15th, 2020:

I hope Manfred is just trying to knock some sense into these players and reach a deal because if not, this season is fucked.

June 12th, 2020:

At this point, it’s just a neverending cycle.

 

June 9th, 2020:

MLBPA makes a proposal for an 89-game season with full prorated salary and expanded playoffs:

June 3rd, 2020:

A 50-game season is looking more likely, as MLB has rejected MLBPA’s 114-game season proposal.

June 1st, 2020:

MLB is highly considering 50-game schedule with full prorated salaries:

May 31, 2020:
  • The MLBPA proposes a 114-game season, ending October 31st. See below for the full story:

May 28, 2020:
  • While in negotiations with the MLBPA, MLB released the following plan for salary cuts for the 2020 season:

  • As you can see, MLB owners really don’t want to pay their players, and they are offering them pennies on the dollar in exchange for playing this year. In response, Nationals star pitcher Max Scherzer posted the following on Twitter on behalf of the MLBPA:

It’s pretty clear that the overwhelming majority of MLB players considered MLB’s proposal a slap in the face and are not willing to even entertain that offer. Of course, it’s worth noting that the guys who are more than likely calling the shots on behalf of the players are the ones with multi-million dollar contracts. The up-and-coming players (not as rich) would probably be more willing to work with MLB here because they want that big-league exposure (assuming rosters sizes are increased) and their salaries won’t be diminished, relatively speaking, compared to guys like Scherzer.

  • Following up with Scherzer’s tweet, the MLBPA is looking to counter MLB’s proposal and ask for a 100+ games and full prorated salaries (refer to above tweet for salary reference):

  • Unwilling to pay players, who might’ve been cut at the end of spring training regardless, their stipend of $400/week, Minor League Baseball cut hundreds of players on May 28. That number is expected to surpass 1,000 in the coming days and just shows how much of a toll the coronavirus pandemic has had on baseball as a whole. From a business perspective, it makes sense to “trim the fat”, but it’s still unfortunate to see that guys who were still chasing their dream and rely on their MiLB salary for their main source of income are now apart of the millions of unemployed Americans. Although, they might make more on unemployment than they did playing for MiLB.
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Movies

Ranking Adam Sandler’s Hottest Movie Wives

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Adam Sandler has made some of the most popular movies of the last 25 years and is as “A-list” as a celebrity can get. His movies usually have slightly unbelievable plotlines, which is probably what makes them so popular. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see a movie about a failed hockey player who becomes one of the best professional golfers, or a 30-something-year-old mentally challenged waterboy who realizes his football potential and becomes the best defensive player in the country? However, I think that because Sandler’s movies are already ridiculous to begin with, it makes it easier to believe that even as a remarkably average-looking (dare I say “goofy”) man, he somehow always has an insanely hot wife/significant other. For the sake of this article, I will also include women who Sandler’s character had sexual relations with or but based on the ending, implied that they live happily ever after.

5. Kate Beckinsale, Click (2006)

Click (2006)

Pin on film film films

4. Emmanuelle Chriqui,You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008)

You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)

3. Salma Hayek, Grown Ups (2010)

Pin on Celebrity

Salma at grown ups 2! #Salm | SalmaHayek USA (With images) | Salma ...

2. Jessica Biel, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)

Now if I was ranking Sandler’s love interests by their hottest individual scenes in his movies, Biel would’ve won hands-down. This might even be the best scene in cinematic history. However, credit to me for putting biases aside and not letting the screenplay influence the rankings.

Jessica Biel in the film 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry ...

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)

1. Brooklyn Decker, Just Go With It (2011)

It literally does not get better than this. And even though they did not end up together in the end, they were pretty much engaged for 95% of the movie.

Brooklyn Decker - JUST GO WITH IT - YouTube

Honorable Mentions:

Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Billy Madison (1995)

Here's What The Cast Of "Billy Madison" Looks Like Now (With ...

Goddammit Billy, the Spanish Armada was in 1588! I’ll never forgive him for getting this wrong.

Bridgette Wilson with suspenders in "Billy Madison" (With images ...

Jennifer Aniston, Just Go With It (2011)

Adam Sandler really went 2/2 in this movie, sheesh.

Just Go With It (2011) - Let's Get Married! Scene (9/10 ...

Just Go with It (2011)

I would LOVE to know what Jackie Sandler, Adam’s wife in real life, thinks about all the hot women he’s been able to make out with over the years in movies. Unless Sandler played a millionaire in every movie, it’s highly unlikely that he’d land any of these women in real life. I’d say the most believable of his movie wives is Salma Hayek in Grown Ups because they met when they were young, presumably when Sandler was in much better shape…plus he had game. What Sandler’s roles have done above all else is provide some hope to all the average-looking guys out there with astronomical standards. Never settle, kings. Never settle.

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Movies

‘The Way Back’ Review – It’s the Best Movie of 2020 but Was Forgotten About Because of Pandemic

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Last November, I wrote about The Way Back just after the trailer had been released. I was stoked to see this movie for several reasons, the main being that Ben Affleck would be portraying a character he could personally relate to – a recovering alcoholic. Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic happened and movie theaters all across the country were forced to close; not ideal for a March 6th premiere. However, just because it lost money at the box office and could be considered a commercial failure, The Way Back is a damn good movie.

In my trailer review, I said I thought the movie would be “Coach Carter meets Crazy Heart“. I was pretty spot on with that comparison, but to my surprise, it is much more about Jack Cunningham’s (Ben Affleck) internal struggle with alcoholism than it is about basketball. In fact, I don’t even think you could call this a “basketball movie” in the purest sense if the points of comparison are movies like Coach Carter, Above the Rim, and/or White Men Can’t Jump. In those movies, basketball is the central theme around which there would be no story if you removed it (just look at the titles). It’s like calling Straight Outta Compton a musical. While there are certainly musical elements in Straight Outta Compton, it’s safe to say that it’s no La La Land. In The Way Back, we don’t even see a basketball until around fifteen minutes into the film. Basketball serves more as a crutch for Cunningham, who has spent the last few years as a raging alcoholic following the death of his 9-year-old son. Don’t get me wrong, coaching the basketball team was instrumental in his road to recovery, but I always felt that it was playing second fiddle to the other issues at hand.

Regardless, Affleck was fantastic in this role, and it’s a shame this movie was essentially forgotten about because of when it was released. I’d even go so far as to say that this was one of the best roles of his career. I have to believe that his personal afflictions with alcohol led to him delivering such a powerful performance because he identified with the character like not many other actors could.

As great as Affleck was in this role, the writers deserve a ton of credit for the layout of this movie. Jack Cunningham’s character was like an onion that kept getting peeled back one layer at a time. At first, we have no idea why he’s a drunk. All I know is that if you have to bring a cooler full of beer to work every day, you’ve been through some shit. First layer – we find out that he’s been separated from his wife for a while, but they are not divorced and things seem pretty amicable between the two of them. Sure, that’s a shitty situation, but not drinking-yourself-under-the-table-every-night kind of shitty. There’s gotta be more to his story. Second layer – his son died of cancer at the age of 9. Okay, yup, makes sense. There isn’t anything worse in this world for a parent than losing a child, but watching your young son slowly die via brain tumors would be enough to drive any sane person off the edge, nonetheless someone with his background. Third layer – he had a shitty father. One night on their drive home, Brandon (Brandon Wilson) asks Coach why he turned down a full ride to Kansas out of high school. Cunningham goes on to tell us that his father pretty much only liked him because he was good at basketball, so to really stick it to his old man, he just quit. As if foregoing a college scholarship and a potential NBA career wasn’t enough, he wound up getting into drugs, among other substances as well to really piss off his dad. That right there, ladies and gents, is the trifecta of future substance abuse. No way someone goes through all that and comes out a normal person on the other side…you’ve got to be one mentally tough son of a bitch.

Another aspect of the movie that didn’t go unnoticed for a stickler like me was that it actually looked like the actors had played basketball before. One of my biggest pet peeves is when movies cast someone who has clearly never played sports in their life. It takes away from the ambiance of a scene when someone has terrible shooting or throwing mechanics, so the fact that the basketball scenes in this movie were believable was huge. And since I’m talking about believable roles, I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t remind you about Ben Affleck’s huge back tattoo – one of many questionable choices he’s made in his personal life. Love your movies though, Ben!

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Music

‘High Off Life’ Album Review – Our Toxic King Is Back

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Our toxic king has returned in full force with the release of High Off Life. It’s been almost a year since Future released SAVE ME, an EP made up entirely of R&B/Soul tracks – a nice change of pace for the trap pioneer. Leading up to today’s album release, Future was busy setting the stage for his new album on Twitter.

I knew from the second I saw these tweets that Future was on a mission with High Off Life: to give every “ain’t shit” guy an anthem…and I think I found it. Future’s entire mantra can be summarized in the following line from “Ridin Strikers”:

Can’t stand it, won’t enjoy life if it ain’t toxic.

Above all, this line tells me that Future is completely self-aware. If you have Twitter, then you know that he has become somewhat of an icon in regards to his toxic lyrics…you know the tweet I’m talking about. Even though it gets recycled every holiday, it’s hilarious every single time.

I’d be lying if I said I’d never sent one of these texts, but what can I say? Future was one of my most-listened-to artists during my impressionable teenage years (I’ve listened to DS2 more times than I can count), so some of that toxicity was bound to rub off on me.

Back to High Off Life. With features on the album including Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake, Meek Mill, and Young Thug, I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me my favorite feature would be YoungBoy NBA. I mean, have you listened to 38 Baby 2? Me either. But that’s the reality of the situation – “Trillionaire” is my favorite new song on the album excluding “Life Is Good”, which was previously released as a single.

Certified bangers:

  • “Ridin Strikers”
  • “Trillionaire”
  • “Too Comfortable”
  • “All Bad”
  • “Life Is Good”

However, it does seem like people are overhyping this album a bit and giving it more credit than I think it’s due. As many bangers as Future put out, he couldn’t help but include some rather underwhelming tracks as well. But that’s what happens when you include 21 songs on a single album. Even though long albums are most definitely Future’s “thing”, sorry not sorry, but that’s just too long. DS2 is one of the few albums ever that had north of fifteen songs and remained consistently good all the way through, but for the most part, albums should be more concise.

One problem I run into with Future from time to time when I listen to one of his albums from start to finish is that some of the songs start to sound the same. This goes unnoticed in the long run because those songs aren’t the ones being played on the radio, but it’s definitely noticeable when you listen to the album in one sitting. This goes back to my notion that I think he should cut down the length of his albums. For example, if he left off “Trapped in the Sun”, “HiTek Tek”, “Up the River”, and “Life Is Good [Remix]”, I think High Off Life would’ve been better for it. Yes, I think “Life Is Good [Remix]”  is trash…you shouldn’t mess with perfection. That’s like making Scarface…oh wait.

To end this article with one of the album’s highlights, I think we can all agree it’s Travis Scott’s verse in “Solitaires”. I love Travis as much as the next guy, but overall I thought the song was just okay. What made it stand out was this line:

Been humpin’wifey for so long, she got a limp when she walk.

Kylie Jenner is arguably the most influential person in the world right now, so the fact that at the end of the day she’s still just a rapper’s girlfriend and is prone to lyrical references like any other woman is hilarious. Like just imagine that behind every Instagram post and Snapchat story, there’s a very sore vagina courtesy of Travis Scott?

I have to believe Travis was forced to get the “OK” from Kris Jenner before recording, but I hope he went rogue and didn’t tell any of the Kardashians about this verse beforehand.

High Off Life overall score: 7.4/10

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Sports

The Most Forgettable World Series Championship Teams of the Last 30 Years

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Winning the World Series is a big fucking deal. It’s an achievement that declares you the best baseball team on the planet for that particular year and etches your name in the history books forever. However, if it’s such a big deal, why are some teams more forgotten about than others? Shouldn’t they all be held in the same high regard for their incredible achievement? The sad truth is that they’re not. One possible answer is that they just weren’t all that memorable/captivating of a team. Maybe they barely snuck into the playoffs and got hot at the right time and “stole” the title from a superior team. Banners might fly forever, but our recollection of the team’s title might not last that long. Similarly, I feel like the period from 1990-2019 has had some of the most forgettable World Series champs of all time.

1990 Cincinnati Reds

Even if you weren’t alive at the time, most baseball fans have heard of the Big Red Machine’s reign in the 1970s with Pete Rose and Joe Morgan. I’ve watched enough MLB Network documentaries to know that they were the preeminent National League team of the decade – four W.S. appearances with two championships. However, since 1979 (40 years) they’ve only managed to make the postseason five times, one of which was only a Wild Card game. But somehow, after not making the playoffs a single time in the 1980s, they managed to sweep the defending champion Oakland Athletics in 1990. Those Reds were a classic example of a team that just put it all together for one magical season. Aside from Barry Larkin and Paul O’Neill, the only other notable player on their roster was a relief pitcher (Randy Myers). I’d even argue that the most captivating person apart of the Reds that season wasn’t even a player, but their manager Lou Piniella.

However, I believe the real reason this championship is so forgettable is that it’s outshined by other World Series’ around the same time.

1988 – Kirk Gibson walk-off home run in Game 1(Dodgers won)

1989 – “The Earthquake Series” AND “The Bay Bridge Series” (Athletics won)

1991 – Kirby Puckett home run to force Game 7 (Twins won)

1992 – Even though this World Series didn’t have a defining “moment” like the others, it still featured the Atlanta Braves, who were undoubtedly the National League team of the 90s + when you think of Carter’s ’93 walk off, you can’t help but remember the Blue Jays went back-to-back.

1993 – Joe Carter hits a walk-off home run to win World Series (Blue Jays won)

With such historical World Series moments before and after the 1990 season, it makes sense why that year gets lost in the shuffle. Coupled with how bad the Reds have been since (20 losing seasons/30), I’m sure it shocks you as much as me to know that they were able to sneak in a championship.

2005 Chicago White Sox

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Maybe it’s because I was really into playing The Show around this time, but I am very familiar with this White Sox team and the players on it. Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, Bobby Jenks, Mark Buehrle, Frank Thomas, Juan Uribe, and even manager Ozzie Guillen should all be relatively familiar names if you consider yourself a baseball fan. All of those guys were all-stars (except Uribe, but I can’t forget his days with the Dodgers) at one time or another, and Guillen is up there with Bobby Cox and Lou Piniella in terms of his in-game exploits, plus he had a pretty solid managerial career. But for some reason, I always forget that they won the World Series in 2005.

I believe there are two things working against the White Sox here. The first (1) thing is that much like the 1990 Reds, they haven’t been a great team since winning their title. The White Sox have only made one playoff appearance (2008) since 2005 and have had ten losing seasons in that span of time. The second (2) thing is that they are the little brother in Chicago, like the Mets in New York and Angels in the greater Los Angeles area (I refuse to call them the Los Angeles Angels). The list of second rate teams isn’t baseball-specific either. The Clippers, Jets, and Nets also know how to feels to be #2 in their own city. But that’s just the way it is…No matter what they do, they’ll never outshine the city’s #1 team, which in Chicago’s case is the Cubs. The White Sox embrace being the “South Siders”, and I’d definitely consider them the grittier team in the windy city. However, since their title basically came out of nowhere and hasn’t really resonated with the sport since then, it’s easy to forget that magical season.

2003 Florida Marlins

(Photo by James Keivom/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

By far the most forgettable World Series champions of the last 30 years are the 2003 Florida Marlins. This was a team that included Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, future HOF-er Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Derrek Lee – stacked from head to toe, yet they’re easy to forget. Everyone remembers Edgar Renteria’s walk-off in the 1997 World Series, giving the Marlins their first championship in just their fifth season as a franchise, but no one remembers 2003. First of all, I’d just like to say that I don’t think they get enough credit for that ’97 title. With relatively no fanbase, limited draft picks, and the powerhouse Braves in their own division, it’s insane to think they were able to win a championship just a few years after their inception. But I digress. The Marlins winning the championship in 2003 was actually the third most memorable thing to come out of that postseason.

Steve Bartman. Chances are if you’re a sports fan you’ve heard of this man. Even if you’re not a sports fan (I’m not sure why you’re reading this blog) there’s a good chance you’ve heard of him. That’s because he was public enemy no. 1  in Chicago from 2003 – 2016, when the Cubs finally bailed him out by winning the World Series after a 108-year drought. The Marlins were the opposing team during the Steve Bartman incident, which ultimately resulted in the Marlins winning the N.L. pennant and sent the Cubs packing.

Aaron Boone’s walk-off. Now one of the most famous hits in baseball history, it’s easy to forget that the Yankees didn’t even win the World Series in 2003. Boone’s hit was the highlight of the entire season and has been cemented in baseball lore, but it was just the ALCS. I can’t imagine the kind of momentum that Yankees team had going into the World Series, but somehow the Marlins managed to beat them in six games – considering the circumstances, they deserve a lot more credit.

It’s not the Marlins’ fault that two of the most iconic postseason moments in baseball history happened during their championship season, but since they did, people often forget that they won their second title in just their eleventh season as a franchise. It doesn’t help that they’ve been a shit team every since and arguably have the worst fan base in all of American sports, but they deserve credit where credit is due.

An honorable mention in the San Francisco Giants…not any one year in particular, but just the fact that they won three titles in five years (2010, 2012, 2014) and it seems like everyone’s forgotten about it. Do you realize how impressive it is to win that many titles in such a short period of time? That’s dynasty territory. But because they’re a shit team now and traded away Bumgarner (who single-handedly won the 2014 World Series), it feels like all that happened way longer than six years ago.

My loyalty to the Dodgers in no way influenced my opinion about the Giants. Having said that, I’d give my left nut to see the Dodgers win an unmemorable World Series title. 

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‘Den of Thieves’ Is a Must-Watch Movie on Netflix, but One Thing About It Drives Me Insane

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The first thing you’ll notice about Den of Thieves is a star-studded cast that includes Gerard Butler, 50 Cent, O-Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube’s son), and Pablo Schreiber, among others. I just watched this movie for the first time (shoutout quarantine) and truth be told, I’m disappointed that it took me over two years to find out that Gerard Butler and 50 Cent made an action-packed heist movie that I had never seen. Butler plays “Big Nick” O’Brien, head of LASD’s major crimes unit aka the Regulators, who operate pretty much under their own guidelines.

Do we look like the types who will arrest you? Put you in handcuffs, drag you down to the station? We just shoot you, it’s less paperwork. – O’Brien

Meanwhile, 50 Cent is in a bank-robbing crew made up of ex-marines in the Los Angeles area. The squad is headed by Ray Merriman (Pablo Schreiber), who just recently got out of jail for doing the exact same thing. Rounding out the rest of the crew is Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Bosco (Evan Jones), and Marcus (Marcus LaVoi). They use the tactical skills they developed in the marines to methodically plan and execute heists all around the southland. We see just how ruthless this crew is in the very first scene of the movie where they kill several cops and guards over an armored truck. It’s clear from that point forward that many, many, many, many, men wish death upon 50 Cent and the rest of his crew. If you want to read the full summary of the movie click here, because this blog isn’t necessarily about the plot.

Like any movie, Den of Thieves isn’t free of flaws, but one thing that drove me insane was that it clearly wasn’t filmed in the greater Los Angeles area, where it’s set. First off, LA is the capital of the TV and movie industry…why would a movie set to take place here need to be filmed elsewhere? I realize that a ton of movies aren’t filmed on location, but the audience isn’t supposed to know the difference! The magic of Hollywood is that they fool us into thinking that every movie is shot wherever they tell us it takes place. For example, a ton of movies set in the Middle East are actually shot in the California or Arizona desert because it looks virtually identical to those in the Middle East. Therefore my issue is not that they didn’t film this movie in LA, it’s that they did absolutely nothing to hide it. Apparently whoever funded Den of Thieves thought no one from Los Angeles would watch the movie because it’s blatantly obvious that they’re not in Southern California.

The biggest slap in the face to people from the LA area was the bank robbery scene that was supposed to take place in Montebello, which is basically centrally located in the LA basin – nothing but foothills in close proximity.

See any mountains within ten miles? Twenty? Thirty? No. So how the fuck am I supposed to believe this was shot anywhere near Montebello?

Via Netflix

And see that white stuff at the top there? Yeah, that’s snow…in Southern California. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely snows out here, but nowhere near Montebello or the surrounding cities. Another dead giveaway that this isn’t LA are all the trees in every shot from this point in the movie on; I hate to say it but this city lacks nature. Also, I’d be willing to bet good money that you couldn’t find me a single street in Southern California where the traffic lights hang on a wire like this:

Our lights look like this:

Even Barstow uses metal poles to mount traffic lights for Christ’s sake! I realize that I’m nitpicking, but it’s the little shit like this that makes or breaks a movie for me. It didn’t occur to me how much we as viewers value setting until last night when I realized it’s everything.

If you think I’m being over-dramatic, imagine you were watching a movie supposed to be set in London, but there were palm trees and Spanish style homes in every scene filmed outdoors. If you’re like me, you’d constantly be wondering how palm trees could sustain life in a maritime climate when everyone knows they thrive best in a Mediterranean climate. Okay, maybe you’re not into geography as much as I am, but you know that would irritate you.

While the whole filming location thing didn’t ruin the entire movie for me, it was one of those things that I can’t unsee. In other words, the rewatchability aspect has been damaged because it’ll be the main thing I focus on every time I watch it from now on. I just need more information as to why a movie starring Gerard Butler and 50 Cent couldn’t afford to be shot in LA. It blows my mind that with the nonstop gunfights and car chases, the point in the budget where they drew the line was the filming location.

Overall score: 7.1

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Bryce Harper Demands MLB Let Players Compete in Olympics and Fix TV Blackouts

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Love him or hate him, Bryce Harper is one of the biggest stars in Major League Baseball. He’s not necessarily the best player, but there’s no arguing that he is probably the sport’s most marketed player in terms of endorsements. In being so, the MLB should listen to what he has to say about growing the game not only in the U.S., but globally. Harper appeared on the Starting 9 podcast on Tuesday and brought up a couple of great points that you’d have to be a fool to disagree with.

Fix the blackout issue

MLB’s blackout issue is by far and away the league’s biggest issue in terms of growing the game. Living in the greater Los Angeles area, the only way I’d be able to watch Dodger games consistently is if I had Spectrum cable. Every once in a while, their games get broadcasted on national networks like ESPN and TBS, but outside of those few games, I’m shit out of luck. Sure I could switch my cable provider to Spectrum, but then I lose NFL Sunday Ticket…do you see my dilemma?

Another option is purchasing the MLB TV package, which is free for T-Mobile customers like I happen to be. Unfortunately, however, because of cable restrictions and such, local games are blacked out on MLB TV for me too! Riddle me this, MLB, what the fuck is the point of having MLB TV if you can’t even watch your local team’s games?? It might benefit the Dodger fan who just relocated to Chicago, but for 99% of fans who live in the same city as the team they root for, it’s useless. Luckily for me, I went to college out of state and was able to watch every Dodger game during the time I was at school, but now that I’m back in LA, I’ll no longer enjoy that luxury.

Baseball is a regional sport as it is, so the blackouts are killing the growth of the game. Fans just want to be able to come home and kick back after a long day at work and watch their team play…I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.

Let MLB players compete in the Olympics

(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea – Samurai Japan/SAMURAI JAPAN via Getty Images)

Harper’s other piece of advice to the league is to let MLB players compete in the Olympics. Baseball was slated to return to the Games this summer for the first time since 2008, but since they’ve been pushed back to 2021, MLB has some time to get this right. As great as the World Baseball Classic is, I’d make the argument that the Olympics is a way bigger deal. For starters, the modern Olympics have been around 110 years longer than the WBC. Since they have been around so much longer, as a society, we view the Olympics as the epitome of athletic excellence. For example…if the world archery championships (not even sure that’s a real thing) were on TV, I wouldn’t be able to change the channel fast enough…but if Olympic archery is on, you bet your ass I’d watch every single shot. The sad truth is that the Olympics are a HUGE deal, whereas no one outside of the baseball community really gives a shit about the WBC.

I also realize that the MLB season schedule would need to be reorganized to accommodate for the two weeks during the summer that the Olympics would take place. That’s two weeks out of every four years. I’ll say that again…Two weeks out of every four years. If baseball owners can’t collectively agree that a once in a lifetime experience every four years is worth the cancellation of 14 games in the dog days of summer, then they have no business owning a club. Here’s a great idea I just came up with – push the All-Star break to coincide with the Olympics so the league won’t have to cancel as many games! That way, players that don’t make an Olympic squad get a nice little break from the season grind, owners won’t lose as much money, and there will be a whole bunch of players who can call themselves Olympians for the rest of their lives. It’s a Win-Win-Win.

If you’re watching The Last Dance, then you’d know how much the 1992 Olympic dream team meant to the sport of basketball and the impact it had on expanding the game globally. Believe it or not, baseball has fans all over the world too, but by making these types of decisions (not allowing guys to play in the Olympics) they’re limiting its reach. Hopefully, the League takes Harper’s criticisms into consideration because I’m sure many players and fans feel the exact same way.

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‘Listen To Your Heart’ Week 4 Recap: Bachelor Producers Strike Again

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Before we get to the recap, I’d like to take a moment of silence for my man Sheridan.

Thank you.

Like many men before him, Sheridan fell for a woman who did not reciprocate the feelings he had for her. To the audience, it was pretty clear from the beginning that Julia (Sheridan’s unrequited love) was more into Brandon. It just so happened that Brandon was more interested in Savannah, which created quite the love t̶r̶i̶a̶n̶g̶l̶e̶ square. As much as I fault Julia for stringing Sheridan along even though it was obvious they didn’t share a romantic connection, the real culprit of last night’s drama is the producers.

The entire flow of the house was flipped upside down when the producers split up three couples and made them go on dates with other people. They really just wanted Julia and Brandon to go out, but they couldn’t make it too obvious, so they made Rudi and Chris and Jamie and Ryan go on dates too. Their plan worked. Brandon and Julia’s date broke up their relationships with Sheridan and Savannah, and it appeared as though neither of them has ever broken up with someone before. However, while it was clear Julia was never really interested in Sheridan, Brandon was going to do and say anything under the sun to stay on this show…even if it meant coupling up with his second choice.

Brandon, the 34-year-old folk-pop singer from Nashville, is the definition of a fuckboy. I’d say most men go through a fuckboy phase of their lives, which I’ll attribute to immaturity and raging hormones…but most men grow out of this stage in life by their mid-twenties. Some may even take their fuckboy tendencies with them into their late twenties (30 is pushing it), but these men were more than likely late bloomers, so they’re making up for lost time. But then there are the rare instances, in Brandon’s case for example, where the guy continues to act like a 19-year-old frat boy into his mid-30’s (or later). I realize that this is The Bachelor universe we’re talking about here, so fuckboys come with the territory, but most are in their twenties! By the time a guy is 34, he should pretty much know what he wants and be done playing games. Unfortunately for Savannah, Julia, and Sheridan, Brandon is still trying to figure out his life, and they were all expelled from the show because of it.

The sad reality of LTYH is that unlike the traditional Bachelor and Bachelorette shows, they’re messing with people’s careers. These aspiring musicians have been slaving away in the industry for years waiting for their opportunity to break out, and by getting cast in this show, it’s a real opportunity for people in the music industry to take notice. However, they’re forced to make a romantic connection at the same time, or risk getting booted off the show. Aside from Chris and Bri, I’m not convinced any of the remaining couples share a real connection. Rather, they’re faking it to stay on the show longer and receive more notoriety…which I don’t blame them for AT ALL.

Matt and Rudi seem to share a genuine connection, but based on the preview of next week’s episode, I don’t think they’ll last. My prediction is that Rudi’s jealous side comes out and Matt can’t handle it.

Trevor and Jamie not having a serious connection is a hot take from me. I think that on the surface, everything seems fine, but Trevor is slowly starting to realize that Jamie is a child, and he’s going to have to babysit her through every performance. I’m referring to the fact that she dreads going on stage and then cries after the performance because she doesn’t think she sang well because of her nerves. On the other hand, Trevor is a 29-year-old guy who’s comfortable with his ability and shouldn’t have to console his girlfriend before and after every time she takes the stage.

“Fuck this” – Trevor, probably.

Our last and fakest couple remaining is Ryan and Natascha. While Ryan’s feelings seem pretty genuine, Natascha is faker than Kylie Jenner’s face. I will 100% guarantee that Natascha breaks up with Ryan the minute she signs with a record label after this season. I hate to say it, but she’s got a great voice. She’s been complimented after both of their performances by actual music critics/producers, not just a former Bachelorette. Her career is probably going to take off after this, and I hate that arguably the worst person (it’s a toss-up between her and Brandon) on this show could have the best career. My disdain for Natascha began the minute she came on the show and confronted Trevor about cheating on his ex-girlfriend. She clearly knew nothing about the situation and only wanted to start drama, which is great for the show but makes her a shitty person. I’m still not even convinced she knows Trevor’d ex. From that moment on, Natascha has been public enemy numero uno in my mind. She had been relatively quiet, drama-wise, until last night when she told Julia (five minutes before her performance) that Brandon the Fuckboy said he would’ve chosen Savannah, had she wanted to stay. What world is Natascha from where she thinks that that could be interpreted as anything other than sabotage? And as we know, Julia and Brandon got voted off the show because they gave a bad performance…Natascha’s plan worked.

Even though she has the voice of an angel, Natascha is (as Elvis Presley put it) the devil in disguise. I just hope Ryan and the judges realize it before she wins this damn show. However, it’s going to be tough to match what Chris and Bri are putting out there. In all the seasons of the Bachelor I’ve watched, I’ve never seen two people so genuinely in love. They’re going to be a tough couple to beat, especially if they really do get married next week.

 

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